


The Last Piece of the Puzzle

by Riddlerkp



Category: Zero Escape (Video Games)
Genre: Akane is Bisexual, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Carlos is a hot barista, Carlos isnt about labels, Junpei is pansexual, Other, Polyamorous Character, Polyamory, polyamorous
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-16
Updated: 2017-02-16
Packaged: 2018-09-24 21:14:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9787241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Riddlerkp/pseuds/Riddlerkp
Summary: Junpei and Akane are out on a date when they go to a Cafe and run into the Hot barista Carlos and instantly fall in love.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [fatalarcher](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fatalarcher/gifts).



> Yoooo so this is the second fic I have ever written in my life and its dedicated to my best bro ever Fatalarcher for valentines day. It's one of four to come of her OTP's. I hope that my portrayal of the characters isn't too off and there isn't anything offensive. Thank for reading!

Junpei and Akane were on their usual Saturday date. They were walking downtown, their connected hands swinging between them and their feet stepping in unison. The sun was shining warmly on the two of them even though there was a cold breeze that would come once and awhile cool down their skin. For Akane it felt like a perfect combination even though Junpei kept complaining that it was ruining the nice day. 

For that week’s date they had settled on shopping in the quaint little shops downtown that they usually never had the time to go to. They had gone into a dusty looking Knick knack shop and pointed all the strange antiques while an old lady sat behind the counter and watched them as if waiting for them to break something. They went into a second-hand store and tried on strange clothes, Akane finding her phone filling up with silly picture of Junpei that she as going to download on her computer as soon as possible. After that they found and old arcade with games from before they were born and Junpei found his ass getting kicked by Akane over and over again. Instead of angry he was truly impressed. Junpei had always been good at puzzles and games, so beating him was really something amazing. Though, Akane was extremely smart, so he knew he shouldn’t really be surprised. They went into a comic book store, a store dedicated to Elvis Presley, and a wig store where they once again tried them on to take pictures and got kicked out. Once they calmed down their laughter Akane announced she was hungry.

“Well, it is noon, “Junpei responded, looking down at the red watch on his wrist, “Where would you like to go?”

Akane tapped on her chin as she looked around. Her eyes scanned over a Mexican place, a sandwich shop, and landed on a cute little café with tables sitting outside under a canopy, “How about there?” She inclined her head towards the place and Junpei eyes followed.

Junpei could eat anything, there wasn’t much he didn’t like, so in the end Akane could have picked anywhere and he would have followed gladly. “Looks perfect.”

With a wide smile Akane pulled on his hand and they crossed the street over to the café. The closer they got the more Junpei could take in about the place. It was a feminine looking place. The canopy was purple and the chairs had pink cushions. The window was decorated with flowers and he was sure that it was a place targeting girls, but Junpei didn’t care at all. He didn’t mind girly things since he didn’t see why a guy couldn’t like girly things too. However, knowing that was an unusual perspective in society as a whole, he was surprised to see a fit man with blond slicked back hair standing behind the counter. He looked like he belonged in a mechanics garage, not behind some pink counter full of donuts, muffins, and cake slices.

“Welcome.” He said, flashing them both a smile from where he stood.

Akane gripped Junpei’s arm, “Holy shit.” She muttered and Junpei knew exactly why. The guy was hot. He had beautiful green eyes, a body that clearly screamed that he worked out, and a smile that could make anyone’s legs weak. Junpei guessed that Akane’s legs were a little weak by the way she was clinging to him. “He’s gorgeous.”

“God I know.” Junpei whispered back, his arm starting to hurt where Akane gripped it. “I want to take him home.”

Akane’s eyebrows shot up and she slapped his arm, “Holy shit Junpei! You have no decency!”

He just shrugged, “You know you were thinking it too.”

Akane rolled her eyes but he wasn’t exactly wrong. The guy was gorgeous and if he wanted them to go home with him then she wouldn’t say no, she would admit that, but that wasn’t what she was looking for.

“Is there anything I can help you with?” The man spoke up again and they both jumped. Slowly looking up to him Akane realized he had a strange expression on his face and probably thought they were weird. She couldn’t really blame him. If two people had stopped in front of the doorway of somewhere she worked and started whispering and hitting each other she would think it was weird too.

“Ah, we are just looking over the menu, thank you.” Junpei said smoothly and Akane was glad at least one of them had said something so they hadn’t just stood there looking guilty.

“Okay, no problem, take you time.” The guy smiled again and moved off to clean the counter behind him, giving them both a shot of his nice ass.

“Oh god.” Junpei blurted and Akane resisted the urge to slap him again. Why was her boyfriend like this? 

The two of them had known each other for a long time. They had met when they were younger and were really close until Akane moved away. The Junpei from back then had been sweet and gentle and kind. When her family moved back a few years later the Junpei she found waiting for her was still kind and gentle, but under a mask that could be crude and sarcastic. Either way she still loved Junpei, no matter what he was still the same person she had always known, but sometimes she couldn’t help but wish he was a little less brash.

“Do not stare at his ass.” She warned him under her breath even though she wanted to look at it too. One of them had to keep their head in that situation.

Junpei tore his eyes away to look at her, “I don’t think it’s a choice anymore, it’s a need.”

He said it so seriously she couldn’t help the giggle that bubbled from her lips. “Let’s just go order.”

In unison the two of them walked up to the counter and they guy returned, “What can I get you two today?” Junpei ordered their usual coffees and a slice of cake to split while Akane looked at the guy’s nametag. Carlos. It was a nice name and seemed to fit him really well. “Okay, I’ll bring it out to you when I finish.”

“Thanks.” Junpei said then winked in an attempt to flirt. The guy didn’t seem taken back by this and instead handed Junpei the receipt before turning to start on the drinks with the same smile plastered on his face.

Despite the lack of reaction Junpei didn’t seem to be deterred by this and instead they went and found a booth to sit where they could still see him. They sat on the same side, Junpei sliding in the booth first and Akane coming in second. They both settled in with Junpei’s arm around Akane shoulder.

“Did you see his name was Carlos?” She asked as they watched him move from machine to machine expertly.

“I sure did. Did you see the way he checked out both of us?” Junpei said it looking at Carlos with a straight face and Akane jerked her head to look at him.

“Are you serious?” her voice was high with excitement but Junpei finally looked to her with a laugh.

“No, but I wanted him to have.”

Akane groaned, “Why would you say that then? You got my hopes up for nothing.”

“I wanted to see if you were as interested in him as I was.” Junpei’s eyes returned to Carlos and both of them watched him move around again with their sides pressed together.

“If you mean yes we both think he’s hot then yeah, we are.” Akane said it but she wasn’t sure if Junpei was listening. He was deep in thought about something and she couldn’t help but think he had some kind of idea forming.

When Carlos finished their drinks they both averted their eyes so he didn’t know they had been staring at him practically drooling for the last few minutes. He set their drinks and the cake slice on the table, announcing what they were as he set them down, “enjoy” He said once his tray was empty and turned to leave when Junpei’s hand shot out and grabbed his arm before he could get too far.

“We are they only ones here, so why don’t you sit down and talk with us for a bit?” Junpei’s words were thick with pleasantries as he tried to coax him into doing what he wanted him to do.

Carlos looked between the two of them before looking towards the back of the shop. After a second he shrugged and slid into the booth, “Why not. Is there something you wanted to talk about?”

Junpei shrugged nonchalantly, “Not anything specific. We just like meeting new people. Tell us about yourself.”

Carlos’s eyebrows pushed together in a look that said he wasn’t sure what to think about Junpei, “I don’t know what to say, that’s way too broad.”

Akane took a sip of her drink, which she instantly thought was delicious, and set it down while her own ideas formed, “Tell us why you work at this coffee shop.” She suggested.

Carlos directed his wary look at Akane. She was positive that he found the whole situation strange, but for some reason he was going along with it, “I don’t really look like I belong here, do I? My parents own the place so I automatically get a job here. I can’t complain though, its nice work and it helps pay for school.”

“What are you going to school for?” Junpei threw out before there could be a pause.

“I want to be a firefighter so I’m going for my fire science degree.” A little smile was forming on his lips and Akane could tell that he really enjoyed what he was doing. “What about you two?”

“Junpei is going for engineering. Me on the other hand, I have so many things I want to do I haven’t decided.” Akane instantly said it and Carlos tilted his head to the side.

“What kind of things are you thinking about doing then?”

“Oh you know, scientist, doctor, lawyer, biologist, astrologist, politician, neuroscience…” She listed each on her fingers before she dropped her hands back to the table, “Really the list just keeps going and going, but I think I’m leaning towards being a scientist. It sounds the most interesting.”

The side of Carlo’s lip pulled up in a mix between a smirk and a smile, “So you are both pretty smart then?”

Junpei laughed, “I guess you could say that. She’s way smarter than me though. I feel like I’m chasing after her half the time.”

Akane shot him a look, “Oh don’t say that. You are very smart.”

Junpei rolled his eyes and turned back to Carlos, “Anyways, what made you want to be a firefighter?”

Carlos bit his lip and his eyes turned to the back of the café. Akane recognized some kind of pain in his eyes and wanted to elbow Junpei in the side for asking something that would make him look that way, but knew that there was no way Junpei couldn’t have known.

“A few years back I was out getting more milk since we had run out in the café. When I came back the place was on fire. I ran in desperately looking for my family and I found my sister and brought her out. I went in and searched for my parents but I couldn’t find them for the longest time. However, firefighters arrived and found me and them and we all got out safely. If it wasn’t for them my parents and I would probably be dead. I guess I wanted to do the same for other people.” The whole time Carlos had talked he had been staring at the back, his eyes flashing through emotions while remembering the incident. However, when he looked back over to the two of them there was a smile forced on his face, “Though I’m sure you didn’t need to hear something like that from some random coffee shop worker.”

Akane should her head and reached out to touch his arm, “No your fine, we were the ones that asked. I’m just really glad you guys made it out alright.”

“Yeah, and this place looks amazing for having burned down.” Junpei was now looking all around the café. And while that was a little insensitive he was right, the place looked amazing and had no signs of having ever having any damage done to it.

“A lot of friends and neighbors pitched in to help us with repairs. Plus insurance came into play. We were pretty lucky that we were able to set back up.”

“Your family must be really loved then.” Akane said and pulled her hand away from his arm.

“Yeah.” Carlos looked down at his hands, “Everyone loves my little sister and my parents are well-known by all the shop owners downtown. We are a tight knit community down here.”

“What’s your little sister like? Does she work here too?” Akane turned her head to see if maybe she was hiding someone else in the café.

“No, she’s only 15 so my mom won’t let her work until she’s 18.” Carlos laughed under his breath.  
“You say that like she wants to work?” Junpei asked as he took the first bite of the cake.

Carlos laughed again a little louder, “Yes, she desperately wants to. She loves the aesthetics of the café and wants to wear a cute outfit. She thinks she’s going to lure in cute girls and one of them will fall in love with her.”

“She sounds cute.” Akane smiled, thinking that back when she was 15 she probably thought similar things.

“Yeah, she is. I love her a lot.” His laughing smile turned into a genuine one as he thought about his sister. It pulled at Akane’s heart strings. He was a family guy, she could appreciate that.

After that the three of them chatted about everything and nothing. They talked about what colleges they went to, which happened to be the same, they talked about what they liked to do in their free time, and just random little subjects that came up and had nothing to do with really anything. To Junpei’s surprise Carlos never asked why they were so interested in him. Most people don’t delve into the life of their barista and find out random things like if he would rather fight a lion or jump from an airplane into a swimming pool with no parachute. He chose to fight the lion and that had actually impressed Junpei. 

He had gotten up a few times to serve customers as they came in but to their enjoyment he always came back. As the time ticked by and another round of drinks was ordered. Junpei has a sneaking suspicion that Carlos must have had some kind of interest in them too. He wasn’t going to fool himself to instantly thinking it was the same thing they were aiming for, but the thought made his heart pick up a little.

Being polygamous could be difficult at times. The idea that you can love more than one person was insane to some people. They think you have to pick. Both Junpei and Akane always agreed that their hearts were always open to adding another person to their relationship. They were not actively pursuing it per say, but if they ran into someone then they were attracted to they didn’t want to turn away because they already loved each other. However, between the two of them they only had one rule and it was that they both had to be interested. It wasn’t like that for all polyamorous relationships but personally they didn’t want to throw off their balance by having things feel unequal and they both figured that if it was meant to be they would both like this person.

Junpei usually wasn’t one for dramatics but he felt like Carlos could be the one that fit into their relationship like a puzzle. And from looking at Akane and how she watched him as he talked he could tell she felt the same. From the moment they saw him it was like an energy was flowing through the three of them. Carlos was gorgeous of course, but he was also kind, sassy, funny, and just overall a person that Junpei was very interested in. He wasn’t afraid to remark on any of Junpei’s sarcastic comments and seemed like a strong headed guy and that what Junpei looked for in a partner. That’s one of the reasons he loved Akane so much. Carlos was clearly smart too. Even if he was going to be a firefighter he could keep up with the technical stuff they would say and even bring up some theories and random information that the two of them hadn’t heard before.

Yet, no matter how perfect Carlos was, there was no guarantee that he was polyamorous too. Maybe he was just interested in Akane, or he was just interested in Junpei. He didn’t know this guy’s preferences and that’s what made being polyamorous so hard. The world in general was always taught that love was between two people, so it was hard to shake people out of the mindset if they didn’t understand.

While he was thinking Junpei realized that someone had walked out from the back of the café and he pointed at them, interrupting whatever Akane was saying, “Who is that?”

Carlos lazily looked over before he saw the person and sprang from his seat, “That’s my mom, I have to go.” He mumbled and fled from the booth to go talk to her before she could see him sitting with customers.

Both of them watched him run off and talk to his mom. His smile was wide but nervous and Junpei was sure that he was checking to see if he had been seen. Once his mom smiled and laughed you could see his shoulders relax. Secure that he wasn’t in for a scolding he moved to clean the counters and the machinery he had neglected to talk to them.

“So what do you think?” He asked, looking at Akane who was tucking herself back into his side.

“He was so interesting. I want to get to know him even more and more.” The smile on her lips was gentle as she looked from Carlos and up at Junpei, “What about you?”

“I feel the exact same.” He replied and Akane’s eyes lit up.

Stretching up she pecked him on the lips, “I love you so much, you know that?”

Which a chuckle he moved down to kiss her, “I do.” He kissed her again, this time taking a litter longer to express his feelings with his lips. When they pulled apart he could tell she got the message.

As they finished off the rest of their second drinks they talked. They debated the best way to go about inviting him on a date with the two of them. They didn’t want to scare him off or make it weird, so they decided to try the simplest approach.

Getting up Akane left Junpei at the table and walked up to the counter. She stood at the cash register and it took him a second to see her standing there.

“Hey Akane, is there something else you wanted?” He asked as he wiped his hands off on his apron.

She shook her head, “No, actually I just came to say goodbye. Junpei and I are leaving”

His face fell a little. It was almost unnoticeable but Akane was good at reading people, “Oh I see, it was nice meeting you. Come in again sometime soon okay?”

Reaching into her pocket She pulled out one of their drink receipts and grabbed a pen off the counter, “I’ll do you one better.” She said as she scribbled her number down, “Let’s go on a date sometime if you are up to it.” Sliding the number forward she smiled in a way she knew was flirty, “Call me, okay?”

He stared down at the paper with a look of confusion, “I thought you and Junpei were dating?”

“Oh, we are.” She said simply and as if on que Junpei got up from the table and started making his way over.

“I don’t understand.” Carlos said as he lightly touched the corner of the receipt.

“We would both like to go on a date with you.” Junpei got to the counter and leaned on it so his face was next to Carlos’s, “We both think you are cute and want to get to know you more.”

Carlos blinked slowly, surprise taking over his face, “Is this for real? You guys want to both go on a date with me? Like a romantic date?”  
“Of course. If you like both of us that is.” Akane smiled but she was nervous. This is usually when they got turned down. The person they were interested in usually only liked one or the other of them, never both. She wanted Carlos to be the one that would say yes so bad but she was trying not to get her hopes up.

“I…I…” Carlos eyes were flickering between the both of them. Then, after a moment of processing their offer, a smile broke out across his face, “I would like that very much.”

Both Akane and Junpei froze. They couldn’t believe their ears. Had he just accepted the offer to go on a date with them?

“You will?” Akane said slowly in confusion, trying to process what she had just heard.

“Yeah.” He shrugged as if it was no big deal, “I think you both are attractive and you seemed like nice people. If you guys are open to that then I would love to try going on a date.”

“Oh.” Junpei’s eyes were wide, “Then, uh, call us later and we will set up a date.”

Picking up the receipt with Akane’s number and folding it nicely he placed it in the pocket of his apron, “Okay, look forward to hearing from me.” He winked and both Junpei’s and Akane’s hearts exploded.

With a wave and goodbyes, the two left the café in complete shock. They could barely believe things had gone so well. An insanely hot and perfect guy was willing to try going out with both of them. Things felt like a dream, they were walking on air. But most importantly, they were eager for Akane’s phone to ring.


End file.
